Page 69 of Joker in the Pack

Nope.

Unknown: Car sorted to check your place tonight. Black Jeep Cherokee. Nye.

He’d kept his word. I quickly added his number to my phone and resisted the urge to put it on speed dial. Being in the same room as Nye made my pulse race, not just because he was kind of scary, but because I didn’t need that complication right now.

The Jeep woke me up three times as it rolled down the driveway, paused for a few minutes, then drove away again. Once, a man climbed out and did a circuit of the cottage. The headlights cast eerie patterns on my bedroom ceiling as they came and went, and each time, I hopped out of bed to check it was the right vehicle.

I should have slept more easily, knowing Blackwood was keeping an eye on me, but when my alarm finally went off, I still felt drained. The roar of Nye’s motorbike engine just after eight did nothing to help my tiredness.

I’d made it as far as the kitchen, and I was about to lever myself out of one of the chairs to fetch my dressing gown when he appeared in the doorway.

I did a pretty convincing impression of a goldfish. “How did you get in? I know I locked the door.”

I’d checked it three times instead of two before I crawled into bed and once more in the night.

He gave me a grin, the first I’d seen from him. It transformed his face from surly into heart-stopping. Literally. He’d better not do that too often.

“You did. I was just making the point that your lock’s shit. A child could get past it.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel so much better.”

“My guy’s coming to upgrade it the day after tomorrow. He couldn’t make it any sooner.”

That was a small comfort. “I really appreciate it.”

Nye grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl and started munching on it. “Ready to visit Carol?”

He smirked as he said it, and I looked down at my bunny pyjamas. “Do I look ready?”

“I’ve seen worse. Remember the onesie fad?”

“I couldn’t possibly forget—Aunt Ellie’s got a bunch of them downstairs. I’ll wear the pyjamas if you fancy dressing up as a zebra. I’m sure there’s one in your size.”

“Reckon I’m more of a lion.”

Yes, he was. Majestic, predatory, kind of scary.

“Well then, I’m changing, but I need a shower first. How come you’re even awake? I thought you were working last night.”

He shrugged. “I got a couple of hours’ sleep. It’s enough.”

People like that made me feel so inadequate. I dashed up the stairs, determined not to keep him waiting for long.

“Wear jeans,” he shouted as my foot hit the landing.

“Why?”

“How were you planning on getting to Lower Foxford?”

Uh, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. We only had one push bike between us, so that left walking, the bus, or…Nye’s motorcycle.

“Your bike? You want me to ride on the back of your bike?”

“Beats walking. Make sure you wear warm clothes.”

The thought of getting on that two-wheeled beast terrified me. Maybe I could splash out on a taxi? I had Warren’s number handy, and he did say to call him if I needed help. I’d say this qualified. Yes, that was a good plan. I’d just explain to Nye that I’d come up with an alternative solution.

Except when I finished my ablutions, changed, and hurried downstairs, he held out a leather jacket to me.

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